Quick answer
To clean fly screens without taking them down: vacuum the mesh on both sides with the soft brush, spray warm water with a few drops of washing-up liquid, wipe with a sponge or microfibre cloth in gentle top-to-bottom strokes, rinse with a spray of clean water and dry with a cloth or leave to air. Never use a pressure hose, bleach or stiff brushes: they tear the mesh and damage the sliding track.
What you need
- Vacuum cleaner with a soft upholstery brush
- 1 litre spray bottle
- Soft sponge or microfibre cloth
- Old toothbrush for tracks and corners
- Small bucket and an old towel for the floor
- Warm water with a few drops of washing-up liquid (Fairy or similar)
- White vinegar for salt and limescale
- Silicone spray (not oil) for sliding tracks and rollers
- Dry microfibre cloth
Step by step
- 1
Vacuum both sides dry
With the vacuum's soft brush, go over the mesh from top to bottom on the inside and, if you can reach, the outside. Remove loose dust, pollen and cobwebs before wetting anything; if you wet it with dust on, you make mud and it ends up worse. Vacuum the tracks and the cassette of roller screens too.
- 2
Protect the floor and spray
Put a towel on the floor under the window. Spray warm water with a few drops of washing-up liquid onto the mesh from about 20 cm, without soaking it. On indoor screens, spray lightly and keep the cloth handy so it does not drip onto the sill.
- 3
Wipe gently with the sponge
With the sponge or microfibre cloth, wipe in gentle vertical strokes, supporting the mesh with your other hand from behind if you can so it does not stretch. On sliding screens, hold the frame; on roller screens, do not press inwards or you will pull the mesh out of the guides.
- 4
Clean the tracks and corners
With the toothbrush and the soapy water, scrub the sliding tracks, the corners of the frame and, on pleated screens, the guide cords. Sand and salt collect there and are what makes the screen jam.
- 5
Rinse
Spray clean water over the mesh and wipe with a clean cloth to remove the soap. In salty areas or where there are white limescale marks, spray water and white vinegar in equal parts, leave for 5 minutes and rinse.
- 6
Dry and lubricate
Dry the mesh with a microfibre cloth or leave it open to the air for 30 minutes. Put a little silicone spray on the tracks and rollers of sliding screens and move the screen back and forth a few times. Never oil: it attracts sand.
- 7
Check the condition of the mesh
Look at it against the light: if there are holes, loose threads or the mesh is stiff and brittle, do not rub it any more. A small hole can be patched with an adhesive fly screen patch (Tesa, 3-5 € at Leroy Merlin). If it is torn in several places or has yellowed all over, it is time to replace the mesh.
How to clean each type of fly screen
The general method works for all of them, but each type has a weak point.
| Type | How to clean it | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Sliding | Vacuum, sponge both sides, toothbrush in the tracks, silicone on the rollers | Do not knock the frame; if it jumps the track, lift it and seat it again |
| Vertical roller | Lower it fully, vacuum, soft sponge, let it dry before rolling up | Rolling it up wet moulds the cassette; do not yank the pull bar |
| Side roller | Same as the vertical, extended, plus toothbrush in the bottom rail | Sand in the rail jams it; sweep the rail every week |
| Pleated | Extended, vacuum the pleats, sponge without rubbing, guide cords with a brush | The cords snap if you pull; never under pressure |
| Fixed | The only one you can take off and wash in the shower with warm water | Do not rest it on the frame to dry; it warps |
| Magnetic curtain | Unhook from the velcro and hand wash in the bucket | The magnets do not go in the washing machine |
Mistakes that wreck a fly screen while cleaning it
- Pressure hose or Kärcher. Tears the mesh, knocks the sliding screen off its track and forces water into the roller cassette. Spray bottle, always.
- Bleach or ammonia. Burns the fibreglass and polyester, which turn brittle and yellow. Washing-up liquid and vinegar are enough.
- Stiff brushes or green scourers. Scratch the mesh and, on powder-coated aluminium, the frame.
- Rubbing without supporting from behind. The mesh comes away from the frame or stretches and goes baggy.
- Rolling up a wet roller screen. Mould forms inside the cassette and the mesh comes out with black marks next time.
- 3-in-1 oil on the tracks. Attracts sand and dust and within a week the screen jams. Silicone spray.
When to call a professional
Cleaning is your job. You call us when the mesh is torn or yellow and brittle, when the sliding screen has jumped its track and will not go back, when the roller screen will not retract or snaps back (broken spring), when the sliding screen's rollers are worn and squeak, or when the pleated screen's cords have snapped.
Manitas Costa prices: mesh replacement 25-45 € per screen (fibreglass mesh included; cat-proof reinforced mesh at a supplement), roller and seal replacement within the same visit, and if it is beyond repair, new sliding fly screen fitted 45-80 €, roller 75-130 €, pleated 160-260 €. Fixed price on WhatsApp from a photo, 6-month written guarantee.
More in made-to-measure fly screens in Valencia and Alicante and in how much made-to-measure fly screens cost fitted. If checking over several fly screens is part of the maintenance of a second home, we include it in our handyman by the hour service.
Salt, pollen and sand: cleaning on the coast
In Torrevieja, Benidorm, Santa Pola or Dénia, a fly screen on a sea-facing facade picks up a film of salt in two or three weeks. Salt is hygroscopic: it absorbs moisture, stays sticky and traps dust and sand. Left alone, the mesh darkens and the aluminium frame pits. On the seafront, clean every 3-4 weeks from April to October; inland, every two months is enough.
Pine pollen on the urbanisations (April and May) leaves a yellow layer that blocks half the holes in the mesh. A dry vacuum removes it in five minutes. Beach sand gets into the tracks of sliding screens and the rail of pleated ones: a toothbrush and silicone spray once a month.
When you lock up the house for winter, clean the fly screens and roll the roller ones up dry. When you come back in spring, check the mesh and tracks before the mosquitoes arrive. If you have to choose new fly screens, in types of fly screens: which to choose we compare the six types, and if you cannot drill, in no-drill fly screens we explain which options actually last.
Frequently asked questions
How often should fly screens be cleaned?
On the seafront, every 3-4 weeks in season because of the salt; inland, every two months. A dry vacuum every two weeks keeps the mesh clean between washes. A clean fly screen lets more air through and the mesh lasts twice as long.
Can fly screens be washed with a hose?
Not with a pressure hose: it tears the mesh, knocks the sliding screen off its track and forces water into the roller cassette. With a hose on a very gentle flow, on a fixed screen taken down and laid on the ground, yes. For all the others, spray bottle and sponge.
What product should I use to clean a fly screen?
Warm water with a few drops of washing-up liquid. For salt and limescale marks, water and white vinegar in equal parts. No bleach, ammonia or strong degreasers: they damage fibreglass and polyester. On the tracks, silicone spray.
How do I repair a small hole in the mesh?
With an adhesive fly screen patch (Tesa or similar, 3-5 € at Leroy Merlin), stuck on both sides of the clean, dry mesh. It lasts a season. If there are several holes or the mesh is brittle, it is worth replacing the whole mesh for 25-45 €.
How much does it cost to replace the mesh on a fly screen?
25-45 € per screen, with new fibreglass mesh, retaining spline and a check of the rollers, in a single visit. Cat-proof reinforced mesh carries a supplement of 20-40 €. If the frame is bent or the roller screen's spring is broken, we tell you beforehand whether it is worth repairing or replacing the whole thing.